


Wildfire

by mirkwood131



Series: EXO Central [14]
Category: BLACKPINK (Band), EXO (Band), Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Androids, M/M, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-24 09:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13808568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mirkwood131/pseuds/mirkwood131
Summary: Kyungsoo and Chanyeol discover love when it's too late.





	Wildfire

**Author's Note:**

> this is a very experimental fanfic, that has been inspired by another fanfic that I read which was about androids and all the videos of Stray Kids that have quite a dystopian vibe to them.
> 
> hope you'll enjoy :)

_“Close the damn window, you moron!”_

 

The first rule, written on every wall of every city and village is that when you hear the alarm, you close all windows. All. With no exception. Every single one, until the noise becomes faint.

 

_“Shut those fucking blinds! It’s like you’ve never done this before!”_

 

The second rule, typed in big, red letters, is that all the blinds must be closed. Until there’s no light peaking inside the house.

Starting from that point, you might become claustrophobic, being trapped in a rotting carcase. Ready for the worst. Until you get used to it and the feeling becomes something ordinary.

 

_“Underneath the tables, all of you! I swear you are all morons!”_

_“But what do we do with him?”_

_A pause._

_“You leave him there.”_

 

The third rule is the worst. It’s the waiting underneath a wooden table or bed until all noises and movement cease. But that’s not true.

The worst only comes when you can only hear your breath and maybe the other’s breaths, surrounding you, without seeing them. It’s when the blood is clapping in your ears and even though you don’t believe in God, you start praying. You might hear a faint scream or yell, but you don’t pay any attention to them. It’s the other noises that bring goosebumps all over your skin. Imperceptible ones, trepidations, the shaking of the floor underneath your feet, the dust raising from each and every crevice making you and the others cough.

_“I’m scared…”_

_“We all are.”_

 

There’s no fourth or fifth rule. Or maybe there are.

Stay alive.

 

_“Kris. It’s too quiet.”_

_“And you make it less quiet. Shut up.” he says, shifting underneath the table until his feet feels less numb._

_The boot digs into his ankle, but he makes no motion to release the pain._

 

Sometimes, in moments like this, all alone with the blackness of your mind, pain seems like an escape. A little bit of it to stop thinking about worse things. Worse pain. Worse darkness.

 

_“Kris. He keeps moving.”_

_“Damn it. Did you at least tie him right?! He’s one of them after all!” Kris says, turning around to look at a dark shape in the back of the room._

_Pause._

_“We tied him. He’s just…shifting.”_

_“Damn it, Baekhyun. I should never let you do anything.” he shakes his head, hearing the unmistakable sound of ropes being dragged over something sharp._

 

Sometimes, sitting like this in the dark and waiting you think that the ending never comes and that you’ll forever be stuck in it, like a bug in tar.

 

_“I’m scared.”_

_“We all are. We all are.” Kris says as a smaller figure nestles at his chest._

_Soft hair tickles his face as the shape hides its face underneath his chin. He wraps both around the thin middle, feeling the small heart beat against his rib cage._

_“Chanyeol. Tie him better.”_

Connections, feelings or family are the worst when your primal instincts shout at you to save your damn ass from the flames. It’s torturous, being conflicted and selfish. How does kindness serve you in death?!

 

_A shout._

_A scream._

_An explosion._

_It’s clear and the floor shakes, the dust rises and rises and the walls tremble. It all stops just as quickly._

_“Chanyeol. Did you hear me?” Kris asks._

_“Yes.” the voice says._

_It is followed by a constant ruffle of clothes and coughing and afterwards by a hard thud._

_“Fuck!” the same voice mumbles. “He kicked me…”_

_“Kick back then. Punch him in the nuts and he’ll calm the fuck down.” Kris says._

 

There are wounds and a lot of blood after the blinds lift and the windows open. Before the light, you cannot believe anything, even though you can feel all of it. It is worst when your eyes get used to the brightness and the colors are vivid once again. It’s better without them, after all.

 

_“I kicked him. But I don’t know where.” Chanyeol huffs._

_“Just kick him a bit more. Don’t kill him.” Kris says, rubbing slow circles on the figure’s back. “Shh…Lisa. It’s going to be alright.”_

 

Most of the time, it is alright. Because humans are selfish and if they are alright, it doesn’t matter if everybody else isn’t alright.

 

_“Hey…are you still alive?” Chanyeol asks, shaking the dark figure’s shoulders._

_“Fuck off.” it says, kicking into the air._

_“I’m just trying to help.”_

_“After you punched me in the nuts?”_

_“So…I did that after all?” Chanyeol asks, beginning to discern the other’s features, the glint in his eyes._

_“Yes.”_

_“Kris, did you hear that?”_

_“Yes…just make sure he doesn’t try any more funny business with us.” Kris says, kissing the top of Lisa’s head._

_“I think we can all agree that I have nowhere to run.” the figure laughs._

 

That’s the deal with being trapped. You have no way to escape or to run to. The only sane thing that you can do is wait and pass the time.

 

_“It should have stopped by now.” Kris says, putting Lisa on one of his legs that he keeps gently moving up and down, almost like a swing._

_She laughs, in the darkness, grabbing one of his fingers in her small hand._

_“And when will it stop then?” she asks, glancing up at him._

_“Soon.” he says._

 

Usually, in waiting, soon never seems to ever come and when it does, the adrenaline is gone and you can only feel relief. Relief, that for some time, it is finally over.

 

_“When this is over…you and your friends will be all dead.” the figure says to Chanyeol._

_“You forget that we have you tied up and in our house.” Chanyeol says._

_The person laughs, leaning down on the wall with a smirk._

_“Other’s will come to see what happened. And when they see…” his finger moves along his neck, slowly dragging across, looking straight at Chanyeol._

_“Cocky…”_

_“Yes. I’m human. What are you?! A piece of metal?” the figure laughs._

_“Stop talking to him you moron. This is exactly what he wants.” Kris says._

_“See. He is smarter than your poor metal head.”_

_“I swear I’ll-” Chanyeol says, but instantly gets kicked in the leg by a heavy military boot. “Fuck.”_

_“I told you not to be a moron.” Kris says._

_It’s quiet._

_10 seconds ticking._

_“I’ll freaking kill you.” Chanyeol mumbles._

_“Cupcake…I think you shouldn’t try that.” the figure says, shifting on the floor. “Come. Sit next to me. I won’t bite.” he says but Chanyeol can clearly hear the sound of teeth clenching._

_“If you think about doing that Chanyeol…I swear you are a moron. You all are morons.” Kris says, shaking his head._

_Lisa laughs, leaning her head on the man’s chest._

_“I wish it would end quicker.” she sighs._

 

In waiting, it’s better not to wish about anything.

Years and years ago, when the posters first started appearing at every street corner, they were rapidly scraped off by people. By everybody.

And then, the first hit came.

Burning, falling and falling down, a big incandescent sphere that smelt like burnt flesh and rotting organs.

Afterwards, the posters only became ordinary; nobody dared to take them off anymore, even though their sight made them look elsewhere.

You knew them by heart. Saw them everywhere. Could tell your neighbor by heart those words. But you never believed them, until the next burning globe was falling down.

To kill.

 

_“What’s your name?” Chanyeol asks, hitting the wall with his head._

_“I know yours. It’s Moron.” the figure laughs, turning towards him. “It starts with K. Ends with O.”_

_“Drop it.”_

_“What? It’s not worth it because you’ll die anyways?” he asks, huffing. “Kyungsoo. Remember it well.”_

_“What’s mine?”_

_“Moron.” Kyungsoo laughs and Chanyeol laughs too, even though he can already feel Kris’ eyes on him._

_Judgmental._

 

Humor. It’s good. It alleviates pain. Loneliness. Worries. You can joke about death, about all the worries and frights and scary scenarios. You can keep doing that until…until they happen to you.

And then you don’t feel like anything.

Most certainly, you don’t feel like joking anymore.

 

_“Chanyeol. Heard it a couple of times before. I’ll tell you a little secret.” Kyungsoo shushes, crawling closer to him until Chanyeol can feel his breath on his face._

_Ear._

_Neck._

_Hot. Wet._

_Making him shiver._

_“Baekhyun…Baekhyun kept telling everyone…that you couldn’t get it hard with him.” Kyungsoo whispers, looking at Baekhyun who is leaning with his back on the couch._

_“I don’t need…whatever this is.” Chanyeol says, but nonetheless, he glances towards Baekhyun._

_He cannot discern much anyways._

_“If you don’t believe me.” Kyungsoo shrugs and crawls back to his spot. “Even the soldiers heard…that you couldn’t keep it hard.”_

_“I don’t. You’re one of them.”_

_“And you’re one of them too. Different camps. Do you sometimes think that none of us is really right? That maybe there’s no right or bad?” Kyungsoo asks but Chanyeol doesn’t say anything._

_He can only think about the only time he tried to have sex with Baekhyun. Pretend he was less metal and more human. He panicked along the way and the other ran away from the house. They haven’t talked about any of it, but he always assumed that his secret was safe._

_He only assumed._

That’s the safest way out. Assuming. Hoping. Hoping that you won’t get hit, burnt, running around with flames eating you alive like hungry animals.

 

_“You’re suddenly silent. This is depressing as it is.” Kyungsoo sighs, shifting once again closer to him._

_“For God’s sake, Chanyeol. Shut his mouth up already.” Kris says, covering Lisa’s ears with the palms of his hands._

_“See. No better than us.” Kyungsoo says._

_“Shut his fucking mouth.” Kris says one more time, louder._

_It’s quiet once again._

_Then, there’s a knock._

_Then two knocks._

_Then three_

_and four_

_and five_

_and six._

_The door and house are trembling. Lisa starts shaking._

_“Wha-what is that?” she asks._

_“Nothing. It will pass.” Kris whispers._

_Another knock._

_Then another._

_And another._

_They grow louder._

_Faster._

_Then slower._

_But they keep on going._

_“Maybe they came to kill you all.” Kyungsoo says with a smile._

_Baekhyun rashly stands up, knocking down a small wooden table along the way._

_“Sit the fuck down!” Kris yells, forgetting to cover the girl’s ears._

_“There’s a person outside. A living one.” Baekhyun says, staring at the back of the other’s head._

_“And what are you about to do?”_

_“Open the door.” Baekhyun says, stepping closer and closer to it._

_Another knock._

_And one more._

_“Are you out of your damn mind?! You don’t know what’s outside. It could kill us all.” Kris says, putting Lisa down and crawling from underneath the table._

_Another knock._

_And another_

_and another_

_and another._

_“There’s a living being outside.” Baekhyjn says, touching the door knob._

_“You won’t dare.”_

_“Yes. I would.” Baekhyun says, twisting the key. Then the knob._

_“I’ll fucking kill you with my own hands if you do it.”_

_“Kris. Kris. I don’t want anyone to die.” Lisa cries, crawling on the floor towards the two men._

_Another knock and the door opens. Kris runs and pushes Baekhyun outside. He shuts the door close, over his fingers._

_A scream._

_The key turns around._

_“What did you do?” Chanyeol yells._

_“Saving ourselves.”_

_“Who?! Him? Me?! Baekhyun…Baekhyun will die if you don’t open it.”_

_“His fault.” Kris says, sitting down._

Sometimes, only sometimes, when the darkness lasts for far too long and the siren keeps going, sometimes people don’t think straight. That’s the worst part. Feeling the sanity leaving you.

 

_“Fucking fucktard! You fucking punched me!” Kris yells._

_“You couldn’t let them die.” Chanyeol says, looking over at Baekhyun and the boy._

_“I could. And you should have too.”_

_“No better than us.” Kyungsoo laughs. “At this point you can just cut these ties. It’s getting embarrassing.”_

_“Shut the fuck up!” Kris yells one more time._

_It’s only silence coming from the other two and their quick breaths-like the wings of butterflies caught between some fingers._

 

In situations of extreme stress, even the strongest break. And when they break, there’s no way of return. Just a painful wait in the darkness.

 

_“What’s your name?” Baekhyun asks the boy crawled at his feet._

_Silence and Chanyeol glances at Kyungsoo who is watching the two figures in the darkness._

_“See. You. All of you are no better than us. Letting one of you die out there. It’s not what we’d do.” Kyungsoo whispers to Chanyeol._

_“Bang Chan.” the boy says._

_“Don’t try to…I saved them.” Chanyeol says._

_“You did. Does this make you superior?” Kyungsoo laughs. “Come on. Cut these ties.”_

_“No way in hell.”_

_“Fine.”_

_“What were you doing outside? You’re not from over here, are you?” Baekhyun asks, touching Chan’s shoulder._

_He flinches and moves away from him, until he bumps into the couch._

_“Some soldier caught me…and they took me here. And then…the siren started and…” he says, looking down._

_“Did you do this?” Chanyeol asks._

_“Not me. But you’ve already killed them. Be proud.” Kyungsoo says, getting closer once again to him. “For a piece of metal…you aren’t that stupid.”_

_“Fuck off.” Chanyeol says, pushing him away with both hands, until Kyungsoo falls flat on his back._

_“I’m taking my words back.”_

_“When will this be over?” Lisa asks, crawling back underneath the table._

_“Soon.” Baekhyun says in response._

_Kris is lying motionless on the floor, staring at the ceiling._

_“Will you please help me stand up?“ Kyungsoo says._

_"Help yourself.” Chanyeol says, sitting up._

_“I’m sorry. You are not a stupid metal piece. Just help me.” Kyungsoo mumbles in a ruffle of clothes on the floor._

_“Fine. But that was a half-assed apology.” he says, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt._

_“That hurt.”_

_“Stop complaining. I’m not your slave.”_

_“You’re not?” Kyungsoo smirks and Chanyeol rolls his eyes. “You’re not.”_

_“Sure…” Chanyeol whispers._

_“For a…uhm…you are very grumpy.” Kyungsoo says._

_“You can’t help it, can you?! What would you say if I called you a piece of meat?”_

_“Am I not one?” he raises an eyebrow._

_“Being one doesn’t make it right to call you like that.” Chanyeol says._

_“Would you two just shut up from talking? Would you?!” Kris yells, sitting up. “I swear that if this fucking alarm doesn’t stop soon…” he mumbles, pacing around. “We could have died.”_

_“But we didn’t. So calm down.” Baekhyun says, looking up at him._

_“You act as if saving-saving him wasn’t reckless and stupid enough.” Kris says, pointing towards Chan._

_“And you’d have left him die? Let both of us die out there?!” Baekhyun yells, standing up._

_“Yes.”_

_“Coward.”_

_“Who do you call that?” Kris says, digging a finger in Baekhyun’s chest. “How many times did I save your ass?”_

_“That doesn’t mean that I would let someone die!!”_

_“You didn’t know what was behind that damn door!” Kris yells, kicking a chair in his way._

Being locked inside the house, you can never know what is waiting for you outside. It can be better or worse than you have expected.

It usually is worse.

 

_“Hey…Chan. You are alright. Nobody will hurt you.” Baekhyun says, looking down at him. “We’re all scared and tired of being in here. That’s all.”_

_“I know…I’m sorry.” he says._

_“It’s alright.” Baekhyun says, brushing his fingers through his hair._

_“He is right…you could have died because of me.”_

_“But we didn’t.”_

_“Please…shut your fucking mouth already Baekhyun. Last time you almost blew up because you couldn’t wait 5 more minutes.” Kris says, walking back, towards Lisa._

 

When the posters have been stuck to every wall, to every free surface, everything written down on them regarded humans. Not androids.

Later on, when the rebellions in the mines started, androids were allowed to take shelter too.

 

_“Have you been brought to work in the mines too?” Baekhyun asks._

_“They didn’t tell me anything.” Chan says, shaking his head._

_“You know…they can be used for other things too…more pleasurable works.” Kyungsoo laughs._

_“And you say that you are better.” Chanyeol whispers, hugging his knees._

_Only their breaths can be heard. Chan is staring at them through the darkness, quiet._

_“I never said that…all of you kept implying that being poor little androids makes you better. Persecuted by the evil.” Kyungsoo huffs. “What you forget is that your sole purpose is to serve us. Not be like us.”_

_“Dickhead.” Chanyeol mumbles._

_“Stop arguing!!” Lisa yells, standing up._

_Kris grabs her small hand, but she shrugs it off, running towards an invisible center of the room._

_“Just stop it, please…nobody is better. I’m the same as you!” she points towards Kyungsoo. “I breathe…I’m just as scared as you. Please…stop being mean. We’re all the same…”_

_“Damn it, Chanyeol.” Kris whispers, walking towards her. “Now she’s crying.”_

_Crying is only a consequence of fear, of too many emotions, it is water that leaves your body. But androids cannot cry._

_Androids cannot breed._

_Androids cannot love._

 

Or this is what they keep telling to you. Until you believe it.

 

_Her chest is shuddering, stepping closer and closer to him._

_“What do you want kiddo?” Kyungsoo asks, looking up at her blurry shape._

_Her fingers touch the ties bonding his hands and slowly, she starts unknotting them._

_They tremble, as she looks from time to time at his face._

_It’s quiet._

_Still._

_The ties fall loose on the floor with a thud that echoes through the room._

_“Thanks.” Kyungsoo smiles, patting her arm._

_Lisa silently sits down between him and Chanyeol, leaning her head on his shoulder._

It is said that androids don’t have souls. For hundreds and hundreds of years, written in article all over the inter-web, they are depicted as half-humans. Terrible substitutes, even after years and years of research.

 

_“My wrists hurt…what’s with that damn alarm that’s not stopping?!” Kyungsoo asks, looking at Chanyeol._

_“She has fallen asleep.” he says._

_“Lisa is my favorite out of all of you.” Kyungsoo laughs, patting her head._

_“Of course she is.”_

 

Sometimes, time passes faster.

But usually, it doesn’t.

 

_“I’m opening that door. I can’t anymore!” Baekhyun yells, just when the floor trembles underneath his feet, making him fall down to the ground._

_“What is this?” Chanyeol asks, as another tremble makes something shatter._

_“How would I know?” Kris asks._

_A shelf falls down and a window creaks._

_The door creaks._

_It starts breaking._

_Light starts peaking through the cracks._

_“What is this?” Lisa asks, crawling at Chanyeol’s chest._

_“It will pass…it will pass.” he whispers, glancing at Kyungsoo._

_Another creak._

_Another crack._

_The windows break._

_The walls and floor tremble._

_“Get underneath the damn table!!” Kris yells, just as a piece of the ceiling falls on top of him. Bricks, debris and wood, covering his entire body._

_It’s light inside and too many butterflies made out of dust are flying through the air._

_One of his limbs twitches at the surface, clawing from time to time at the dirt, surrounded by myriads of translucent insects._

 

From time to time, villages and towns are eradicated from the surface of the earth. Quicker and quicker as time keeps passing, as the alarms set off sooner and sooner. Until you hide almost all your life, hoping that you won’t die.

There’s only hope that it remains.

 

_“Fuck!” Baekhyun yells, running forward and falling right in front of the small dirt and flesh mountain._

_“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”_

_“We must leave. Now. This isn’t safe anymore.” Kyungsoo says, looking at Chanyeol. “If you want to live…we must go.”_

_“Where?!” Chan asks._

_“Anywhere but not stay here. The house will fall all over us.” he says. “Damn it. Chanyeol. Take Lisa. Chanyeol!!” Kyungsoo yells, shaking his shoulders._

_“I’m scared…” Lisa mumbles._

_“Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo says._

 

Panic numbs your mind. Makes you motionless.

 

_“Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo shakes Chanyeol. “We must leave. Baekhyun. Take them outside. Right now.”_

_“I can’t leave him here.”_

_“For God’s sake.” he huffs, looking around. “Chan. Take Lisa and get the fuck out. Now.” he says and the boy grabs her hand, rapidly opening the cracked door, walking out into the daylight._

_“Chanyeol…if you don’t get up…you’ll die in here.” he says, looking straight at his face._

_Then, he glances back at the hand peaking through the debris._

_White._

_Lifeless._

_Still._

_“Chanyeol.” he shakes his shoulders one more time._

_“I can’t move…” he mumbles._

_“Of course you can. It’s only the shock.”_

_“You should leave.”_

_“No. I shouldn’t.”_

_“You hate us. Me…”_

_“Get up…you need to get up.” Kyungsoo says, grabbing his hand and pulling up._

_“Leave. Leave with the rest.”_

_“I’m not letting you die in here. I’m not.”_

_“Please…”_

_“Kyungsoo. Hurry up. This shit is shaking again.” Baekhyun says, rapidly glancing around._

_“Do you think I don’t know?!”_

_“Please leave.”_

_“Not without you, you idiot…” Kyungsoo says, gluing his forehead to Chanyeol. “Not without you.”_

_It falls._

_It first trembles, slowly and then, it descends._

_It hits, strikes._

_It burns._

_Flames._

_“Baekhyun!!” Chanyeol yells._

_And then the ceiling falls down._

_Down._

_Down._

_Faster and fasters._

_It takes only seconds._

_Until it covers them both in debris and bricks and dust and butterfly wings._

_It stops._

_It’s silent and the sirens stop._

_Stop._

_Their arms are poking through all of it, fingers intertwined._

_Still warm as the blood is slowly, slowly trickling down, mixing with the dust._

_There’s so much light inside as the house sets on fire, the door and windows burn down._

_Too much light even._

It is known that androids are not invincible. They need humans around them, to fix their systems. As much as they don’t like it, they’re dependent on them.

They need them as much as humans do.

 

_“Lisa. Let’s go.”_

_“Where are they? Where are they, Chan?”_

_“They’ll come too. They’ll catch up with us.” Chan says tightly holding her hand._

_Walking between burning houses, demolished ones. It doesn’t resemble a village anymore. There’s no humanity left in it._

_Their steps make crackling noises on the ground, stepping over bricks and books and toys._

_Even the trees have fallen down or are burning like big torches…_

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> comments and feedback are appreciated :)


End file.
